Let Me Soothe You
by RosalindHawkins
Summary: {Sequel to "Let Me Save You"} Joey never counted on Seto being the jealous type. Then again, considering Seto's personality, he really should have seen that coming. Rated for alcohol, language, gambling, yaoi, smut. Puppyshipping (Jounouchi Katsuya/Joey Wheeler x Seto Kaiba) M/M
1. Old Maid

Las Vegas had been Joey's idea. He'd said that it was about time they took a vacation together, and he'd wanted them to go somewhere fun, somewhere they could be themselves and not have to clean up their act because Mokuba was around. As much as they loved Mokuba, they needed time alone together. Kaiba enjoyed the fact that in such a flashy city as Vegas that was constantly filled with rich and famous people, he could somewhat blend in. He wouldn't stand out, and he wouldn't be so much of a paparazzi target.

Sometimes it seemed like he got as much attention as Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, or One Direction. Most other corporate execs didn't get that, but he did because he was a young, attractive genius who'd been in the public eye since he was a high schooler. His fanmail, while annoying, could sometimes be amusing, though.

"Are you going to help pack or not?" Joey asked in annoyance as he stopped in the middle of the process to quirk an eyebrow at Kaiba, who sat in an armchair in the corner with a small stack of fanmail on the side table to his left.

"Just a minute, this is the last one," Kaiba muttered absently, pulling a sheet of paper from the large envelope. His eyes fell on its contents and widened in shock. All he could do was stare. "Sweet mother of dragons."

"Never heard that one before. What is it?"

Seto glanced up at Joey, and the brunette's flushed face made the blond curious. "I'm not sure you want to know."

"Now I _have_ to see it." Joey walked over to him and peeked over his shoulder at the printed illustration. "Holy shit." Joey's eyes became wide and his face turned red, just like Seto's. "I thought you had someone screening this stuff?"

"I _do_." Kaiba huffed in irritation, partly to hide the way the pornographic drawing of him and Joey was turning him on. He sheathed it in its envelope and set it on the side table, both of them still a bit shocked.

"How do you think you can get in that position?" Joey asked with unabashed curiosity.

Kaiba snorted and replied, "If you really want to know, figure it out for yourself."

"Okay." Joey smirked and eased himself onto Kaiba's lap, placing his hands on those lovely broad shoulders.

"You're such a tease." Kaiba lifted a hand and combed his fingers through shaggy blond hair, then cupped the back of Joey's head and brought it down until their lips brushed in the faintest ghost of a kiss.

"Who's the tease now?" he murmured against the other's lips. Joey smirked as Seto's tongue flicked across his smile.

"You know, Seto." Joey pulled back a little and pressed their foreheads together as their eyes met instead of their lips. "I don't think I've told you lately how proud I am of you."

"What do you mean? I'm the one who should be proud of you. You have a scholarship that lets you play D-I sports at University, and you graduated with high marks. You've worked hard."

"So have you. _You've_ worked hard to restore your public image, and I know it hasn't been easy for you." It was Joey's turn to affectionately brush his lover's bangs off his forehead. "Going on that game show especially helped."

"Well, I was competing for charity. Nobody's going to slander someone who donated over a million dollars to a charity that provides medical help to children in third world countries."

"And ever since then, you've been getting fan-mail like this, as if you were part of a boy band."

"I totally deserve it, though." Kaiba smirked as he brushed his hands along Joey's sides and let them settle at his waist, his thumbs rubbing along Joey's stomach. "I could be in a boy band if I wanted to be."

"Oh really? Now that's something I would like to see."

Kaiba snorted. "In your dreams."

"Aw, c'mon, please?" Joey attempted sad puppy eyes.

"Fine, I'll help you pack." Kaiba started to stand, putting his arms around Jou so that he didn't tumble out of his lap when he stood. Joey's legs tightly circled Seto's waist as he pouted.

"Oh, alright, you're off the hook for now, but I'm not going to forget about this."

Kaiba set Joey down on his own feet, then went into the closet to start grabbing clothes. "We could have let the staff do this, you know."

Joey wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, but I don't like the idea of someone else going through my clothes."

"They already do that when they service your laundry," Kaiba pointed out with a slight smirk.

"But that's different."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"How?"

"It just is!"

Their light-hearted bickering continued intermittently as they spent the next hour packing the suitcase they would share on their trip. Finally, it was zipped tightly shut and they'd flopped onto the bed side by side.

"So our flight's tomorrow evening?"

"Yes. I rescheduled it with the pilots, so you can still see your dad tomorrow morning."

"Thanks." Joey reached over and laced his fingers with Seto's, nuzzling his head closer to the other's. "I'd hate to cancel on him, and he's been doing so well lately, I just want him to know how much that means to me."

"I'm sure he does know. You tell him all the time."

The intimate silence lasted for several long seconds, but was interrupted by a bouncing brother who chose to enter at that moment. It was alright, though. Mokuba knew the rule: he was only allowed to enter Seto's room without knocking if the door was conspicuously open. A door that was cracked open just a tiny bit might as well be closed, but the door had been open more than that.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Mokuba! How was the movie?"

"It was okay. I'd give it a seven out of ten." Mokuba flopped down onto the bed what little space there was between the two older boys. They had to lift their joined hands to let Mokuba lay there, and they dropped their hands onto his stomach once he was settled comfortably on his back. Mokuba began merrily chatting away, explaining the plot and describing the characters.

"You didn't make any trouble for them, did you?" Seto asked, referring to Yugi and his friends who'd gone to the movies with his brother.

"No trouble at all!"

"Good, and you'll be good for them while we're gone too, or you'll be in real trouble." Seto thought for a moment, then continued, "And don't forget to walk the dogs and feed the cat and—"

"I know," Mokuba sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Don't get sassy with me."

"I'm not—" Mokuba's protest turned to laughter once Seto removed his hand from Joey's and started tickling him. "Hey! Seto, stop!" In his desperate thrashing, Mokuba bonked his head against Joey's.

"Ow! Knock it off, you two!" Joey sat up and rubbed his head as he grinned down at them. Watching them laugh together made him miss his own sister. Maybe when he got home from their vacation, he could convince their mom to let Serenity become reacquainted with their father. It was a long shot, but he had hope.

Mokuba crouched on the bedspread behind Seto, smirking down at his brother.

"It's time for bed, kiddo. I'll see you again tomorrow before we go."

"Goodnight, Seto." The youth pecked his brother's cheek.

"Goodnight, Mokuba. Now scram." Seto was smiling as he spoke and Mokuba simply grinned back before saying goodnight to Joey, kissing his cheek too, hopping off the bed to leave, and leaving for his own bedroom. Joey got up and closed the door behind him.

"They can be your friends too, you know."

"We can talk about this another time," Seto sighed. "I'm not in the mood for a friendship speech."

"What _are_ you in the mood for?" Joey asked in a sultry purr as he dimmed the lights. Kaiba propped himself up on his elbows and smirked. His answer was only a single word and the slight spread of his long legs.

"You."

That night was good, which wasn't the least bit surprising. Sex was always good between them. Joey's favorite moment of the night was the first time he hit his sweet spot, and Seto threw his head back, eyes closed as he cried out in ecstasy. As those neatly trimmed fingernails dug into his shoulder blades, Joey hummed with pleasure, warm coffee eyes trained on his lover. He didn't want to miss a single moment of this.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** The next chapter will be posted when I have **5 reviews** on this chapter, so please follow and review if you want to see what happens next!


	2. Texas Hold 'Em

Joey's visit with his father went well. Not only had he completed his rehab treatment, but he was also in a support group for people with anger issues, particularly those who reacted with violence, _and_ he was still participating in the local AA group for help with others who struggled like him. He had a steady job, a good apartment, and he was so much happier than he had been in years. There was something on his mind, though, that he shared with his son, and this idea started gnawing at Joey from the inside as he drove home.

"The people I've hurt the most is my family, and while I've apologized to you, you're not the only one I've done wrong," he'd said.

"Just don't expect her to come around too soon," Joey had advised with a look of concern. " _I_ can't even talk to Mom anymore. She'd prefer to forget that we ever existed." Joey's voice was particularly bitter. Didn't he at least have a right to know his baby sister?

Joey's father had looked worried and apprehensive upon hearing that warning. Joey hoped that his father didn't expect too much from the female half of their family.

* * *

"You should try to catch some sleep during the flight," Kaiba advised Joey as he reclined his seat. "It's going to be long, and you'll probably get bored." He took out his headphones and plugged them into his phone. He would have used his wireless ones, except bluetooth couldn't be used on the airplane.

Meanwhile, Joey was scrolling through the current news and events happening in Vegas on his phone in the seat beside him. He came across a headline that made him frown and poke Seto in the side to get his attention. The brunette opened his eyes and took off his headphones.

"Did you know about this?" Joey asked suspiciously, holding up his phone so that Seto could see the screen.

"Yeah, I knew about it. So what?"

"Is it a coincidence that we're going to Vegas while there's a gaming convention in town?" Joey seemed on the verge of being ticked off.

"Yes, it's a coincidence, Joey," Seto answered with a sigh. "I knew about it because they asked me several months ago to join the QA panel, but I turned them down. Check the line-up if you don't believe me."

Joey began to do just that, wanting to be sure.

"Honestly, you should know me better by now. We're going on vacation, and that's _all_ we're doing." Seto repositioned his headphones, closed his eyes, and crossed his arms, settling back into his seat with every intention of sleeping for the next several hours. Joey was satisfied with Seto's response and with the evidence he found online, so he tried to do the same. He didn't have nearly as much flight experience, however, and didn't have such an easy time falling asleep.

* * *

"I'm so hungry," Joey complained as he flopped onto the couch of their hotel suite.

"That's what room service is for," Seto answered, picking up the room service menu off the wooden desk and tossing it to Joey. "Here, knock yourself out."

"Thanks." Joey hummed happily as he perused the menu options while Seto began to unpack. After phoning the concierge and placing an order, Joey slipped off the bronze velvet couch and began to seek his boyfriend.

"Seto? Where'd you go?"

"I'm in here."

"Oh, there you are." Joey approached Seto and hugged him from behind just as Seto finished hanging up their clothes in the large chestnut armoir. "This place is huge!"

"Do you not like it?" Seto queried curiously.

"Don't get me wrong, I love it! I just didn't know that hotel rooms could even be this big!"

"It's not just a room, it's a _suite_ ," the brunette corrected with a smirk. "And why should I pay for anything less? We're here to have fun, aren't we?"

"Yes we are," Joey purred, sliding his hands down to his partner's thighs and caressing him dangerously close to his groan. Kaiba froze and swallowed hard, cheeks turning to crimson as Joey caught him off-guard.

"Isn't room-service on its way?"

Joey chuckled at the rasp in his voice as he started stroking Seto directly, applying just the right amount of pressure to torture his partner.

"They said they'd be here in twenty to thirty minutes," Joey whispered in Seto's ear, his tongue flicking across his unpierced earlobe. "We have time."

"Dammit, Joey." It took an incredible amount of willpower, but Kaiba took hold of Joey's hands and moved them away from his crotch, holding them together in one hand as he turned around. "I had a surprise planned for tonight. If you can just wait a little while, I promise it'll be worth it." He pecked Joey's cheek as the blond started to pout.

"What am I supposed to do while I wait for my food?"

"Read a book, take a nap, watch TV." Seto shrugged. "The options are endless, really."

"Oh, TV sounds good." Joey departed for the sitting area, where a large flatscreen TV awaited him, just begging to be displaying ESPN in HD.

Seto discretely closed the door behind him, not wanting Joey to see his surprise prematurely. He returned to the suitcase he'd previously been unpacking and unzipped one of its many compartments in order to access and divulge their collection of sex toys.

Cosplay and role-play had never sounded sexually appealling to him, but that was before last Halloween, when Joey had dressed himself as a puppy. Or, rather, Joey had _un_ dressed himself, then donned a headband with dog ears and inserted an anal plug with a shaggy blond tail attached, so it looked as if the tail were protruding directly from Joey's own rear. The red collar and nametags had been a nice touch, but they'd bothered him for personal reasons. Kaiba had never held any secret fantasies of bestiality, but when he'd walked into their bedroom and seen Joey dressed like that, crouching on all fours, chest lowered to the bedspread, rear facing defiantly skyward, grinning ear to ear as he winked and crooned for "Master" to show him some love, Seto had been as aroused as he had been flustered.

Joey always picked the role-plays, and Seto noticed that he tended to pick the underdog roles for himself (pun intended): master and pet, pharaoh and slave, pirate and captive, dragons (that had been more role-play than cosplay), prince and pauper, cowboy and Indian. It was Seto's turn to pick this time, though, and he supposed that Joey would have no problem fitting the role of a sub.

Seto was just extracting the pair of handcuffs he'd secretly ordered when he heard Joey getting upset in the other room.

"No! Come on, please don't do this to me!"

Seto concealed their hoard of X-rated goodies in the nightstand before leaving the room to check on his partner.

"Something wrong, Joe?"

"I just want my sports," Joey whined as he flopped onto the couch and covered his face with one velvety pillow. Kaiba studied the screen.

"What is this, and why is the American president speaking on ESPN?" Seto furrowed his brow in befuddlement as he stared at the screen.

"It's called the ESPYS," Joey grumbled. "And it's the biggest load of bullshit this side of the Pacific."

"Delightful."

"I can't watch this anymore," Joey groaned. "Seto, make it stop."

The brunette picked up the remote and obliged by turning the TV off.

"The only other sports on right now are golf. Golf's not even a sport!"

Joey continued bemoaning his current plight of sportslessness and Seto pat him on the head to comfort him.

"I'll go finish unpacking, then I'll come back and sit with you. Maybe we can make some plans for the week. Does that sound good?"

"Mhm."

Seto left and returned shortly, sitting with Joey as they talked over ideas for what to do during their vacation.

"You've already been everywhere, haven't you?" Joey accused after ten minutes of discussion. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Joey, do you even know how many businesses there _are_ in this city alone? It's impossible for me to have visited all of them."

"You've been to all the _good_ places," Joey grumbled, casting a sidelong glance at the brunette to see how he reacted.

"No fewer than a dozen new high end restaurants have opened since I was last here, Joey. Between the casinos, the clubs, and the shows, there are literally _hundreds_ of places here that I've never been."

"I know, babe, I'm just teasing you." Joey nuzzled his head against Seto's affectionately, and he returned the favor, relaxing a little.

When the food arrived, Kaiba picked off it while Joey ate, the blond consuming much more than the brunette. When Joey was almost done with his food, he turned the TV back on to see if the ESPYS were over.

"Come on, are people really this stupid?!" he exclaimed, and Seto's answer, though he didn't yet know what Joey was talking about, was both confident and immediate.

"Yes."

"You've got to be kidding me," Joey continued as if Seto hadn't said anything. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the transgender woman on screen, "If he's got a dick, he ain't a chick!" Then he turned to Seto and smirked. "I came up with that myself."

"Congratulations," Seto retorted dryly. "I'll alert the media."

"Seriously, though: chicks and dudes are completely different." Joey was still glaring at the TV. "I've slept with chicks, and I've slept with dudes, and it's a _completely_ different experience."

"Dudes?" Because of the word itself, it was hard to naturally stress its plurality, but Joey understood his meaning and smiled.

"Okay, maybe only one of those. But you wanna know a secret?" He leaned in close and whispered, "He's my favorite."

"I better be." Seto pecked his cheek and asked, "Are you going to keep watching this?"

"Yeah, I think I will. As crazy as it sounds, I'm kind of enjoying being mad at them."

"In that case, I saw some old acquaintances down in the lobby earlier. I'm going to see if they're still there and maybe do some catching up. Call me when you're done with this, alright?"

"Alright, have fun!"

* * *

When Joey called Seto's cell, the brunette was in the middle of a round of poker.

"I'm sorry, Prince Ali, but I have to take this call," Kaiba apologized, standing and slipping the cellphone out of his pocket. "It'll only take a moment."

"Be back for the final bet," the prince replied with a grin.

"Hey Joey, what's up?"

"I miss you, and TV's stupid. Come back."

"I'll be there in five minutes." He hung up and went back to the poker table to finish the hand. He won his fifth game and shook hands with the prince before parting, cashing in his chips before leaving the game room of the hotel.

"So what did you do downstairs?" Joey asked as soon as Seto came through the door.

"Beat a Saudi Prince at Texas Hold 'Em." He smirked with satisfaction as Joey's jaw dropped.

"How much did you win?"

"Oh Joey, the _amount_ doesn't matter," Seto chided disapprovingly. "What matters is that I _won_."

"You're kinda full of yourself, you know that?" Joey looped his arms around Seto's neck as the brunette approached and put his arms around Joey's waist.

"That's why you love me, though."

Joey started kissing Seto's neck, nibbling at the skin with sharp teeth. He was happy, and if he had a tail of his own, it'd be wagging. At the same time, Seto started to purr, the sound reptilian and gravelly deep in his throat.

"So, what was that surprise you had for me?" Joey asked slyly, his lips moving against Seto's skin, his breath hot and humid.

"I'll show you, but you have to close your eyes first."

"How can I see it if I close my eyes?" the blond retorted cheekily with a crooked grin.

"Just close your eyes, and I'll lead you."

Joey obliged and closed his eyes, and Seto took Joey's hands to lead him into the bedroom. He flicked the lights off before leaving the room completely and closing the bedroom door behind them.

"Stay right here," he instructed, and Joey obediently stood with his eyes closed. Then he felt the soft touch of silk across his eyelids.

"Hey, you said—"

"Hush," Seto murmured as he tied the black scarf around Joey's eyes, then pat Joey's head. "Good boy."

"I told ya, Seto, I ain't a furry!" Joey protested, his face feeling hot with embarrassment.

"What about the time I found you playing with the dog?" Seto started removing Joey's jacket as he stood behind him.

"It was just a game o' tug o' war!"

"You had the rope in your teeth, Joe." Seto paused in undressing Joey to remove his own jacket.

"I wanted to see whose jaw was stronger!" he exclaimed defensively, taking a step towards the sound of his partner's voice.

"Freeze." The command was sharp and cold. Joey obeyed. He felt Seto's hands at his waistband, tugging his t-shirt up and over Joey's head, making Joey raise his arms so he could get it off. The undressing continued in dead silence, which made Joey's skin crawl. When they were both stripped down to their underwear, Seto led Joey to the bed, lifting him into his arms and seating him at the head of the bed. He lifted Joey's arms up.

 _Click_.

"Seto?" Joey's voice was breathy, almost uncertain.

"Just tell me if you want me to stop." Seto placed a small kiss at the hollow of Joey's throat as he secured the second handcuff with a second click. "Okay?"

"Okay." Joey trusted Seto; if he said stop, Seto would stop.

* * *

 **Author Notes** : I am SO sorry for the delay in publishing this chapter; a computer glitch erased half the chapter while I was writing it, so then I had to go back and try to remember it all and write it all back down.

Also~ there's going to be a lot of tributes to the YGO fanbase in this story, because I love you people. ^_^ I've already mentioned fanmail and cosplay, but there's more in store! Be sure to follow this story so that you can see what our boys get up to while livin' la vida loca in Las Vegas! *cue Ricky Martin song, followed by the Elvis song*

DISCLAIMER: Concerning Joey's comments about transgenderism... Yes, what he said was kinda douchey, but it also seemed like the kind of douchey and insensitive that Joey _would_ say (and I really needed that as the segue ^^). That being said, please don't be offended by him. That was not the purpose of that line, and I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable.

The next chapter will be posted when I have **10 REVIEWS TOTAL** on this story, so please review!


	3. BS

**Author Notes** : For those of you who don't know, BS is also a card game, which is the theme for the chapter titles in this story (card games, not BS).

* * *

Joey gasped and strained against the handcuffs as waves of pleasure swept over him. Seto slowly removed the dong from Joey's passage, making the eager blond whine with need.

"Patience." Seto poured another layer of lube over his own hand, which was only slightly slick from earlier, when he'd just begun stretching his partner. He curled his fingers into a fist and _shoved_. Joey started shouting curses, body arching towards the brunette, who was holding his hand deep in place.

" _Please_ , Seto," Joey begged, whimpering with desire. "Please… please… _please_ , I can't… I can't wait… much longer…" His voice was breathy and strained, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd had to wait this long for orgasm.

"One moment," Seto hissed, his own breathing labored as hand withdrew again, making Joey writhe in protest. Seto said nothing, so Joey strained his ears to hear what he was doing. He heard the familiar squelch of lube against a tight ass, and groaned.

"Seto," he pleaded, his voice become more insistent. "Seto, I need-" He stopped talking when he felt Seto's weight settle on his lap. Long fingers tangled with his, his breath catching in his throated as Seto seized Joey's member with his free hand to hold it steady. Joey bit his lip as he felt wet, hot skin against his tip.

A joint cry sounded from both of them as Seto impaled himself with one slick downward thrust. They rested like that for a few moments, then Seto moved his right hand down to reach back inside his lover for that sweet little bundle of nerves. When he found it and pressed, Joey thrust his hips one, two, three times and screamed. Seto withdrew his hand and seized the wrought iron headboard as Joey floated in euphoric abandon. He slowly rocked against Joey, drawing his lover back down to earth.

Just as Joey was starting to regain self-awareness, he heard a soft click and felt one of his wrists fall loosely out of the cuff. Seto released his other hand and Joey seized Seto's member on instinct with both hands, wrapping his fingers around the wet appendage and squeezing. Joey angled his hips until he could give him the same pleasure he'd received. With the double stimulation, it didn't take long for Kaiba to come too, slumping forward so that his forehead pressed into the pillow beside Joey's head. For a little while, they just fought to catch their breath, then Seto reached out to his right and grabbed the soft towel he'd placed strategically on the nightstand so he could start wiping the cum off their stomachs.

"Hmmm… that was good." Joey's mind was barely functional.

"I didn't scratch you too hard, did I?"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll be hella sore tomorrow, though. Not that that's a bad thing."

Seto wrapped the lube bottle and the dong inside the towel and dropped it onto the floor beside the bed, then he freed Joey's left wrist from the black fuzzy handcuffs and tossed those away as well. Joey had already removed the blindfold, his hair significantly more mussed than usual.

"Do you want to shower tonight?"

"Nah, t'morrow's fine," Joey mumbled, already slipping into sleep. Seto smiled at the warm satisfaction in his voice as he carefully pulled the sheets out from under his lover and pulled the silk top-sheet over both of them. He put an arm around Joey and snuggled close, giving his shoulder a light peck before closing his eyes.

"Love ya, Seto."

"I love you too, Joey."

* * *

They didn't leave the hotel until tomorrow afternoon, which felt a little strange for Kaiba. They rarely went out in public together, and when they did, it wasn't usually as a couple. Joey had wanted to go to a magic show, the kind conducted by a master illusionist, so Seto had gotten them tickets to a matinee, leaving the evening free for more fun endeavors. After lunch, Seto had taken Joey to the Vegas strip, letting him gawk at all of the replicas: the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the life-size pirate ship, the Luxor pyramid, the Elvis impersonators.

"I will never understand the fascination with Elvis impersonators," Seto mused. "There are hundreds in this city, but there was only one King of Rock 'n Roll."

"You're an Elvis fan?" Joey looked down at him in surprise from where he stood behind the bench on which the brunette was sitting.

Seto shrugged and replied, "I acknowledge him as a prominent cultural figure in his own time, but I wouldn't say that—"

"Hey Joey!"

They both looked up as a familiar female voice called out the blond's name. Joey turned and grinned when he saw Mai approaching at a run. She only came to a halt when her body crashed into Joey's in an embrace.

"Hey, Brooklyn, how you doin'?"

"Not bad," Joey with a laugh as he released her. "Not bad at all. You?"

"I'm livin' la dolce vita, baby!" She winked at him, the flush of her cheeks indicating that she might have have bumped up happy hour by a few hours that day. "What are the _odds_ of me finding you here?"

"If you give me thirty seconds, I can have an answer to that," Kaiba interjected, speaking for the first time since Mai had appeared.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, Kaiba."

Mai's eyes flitted over Kaiba as he stood and turned around to face the blonds. That only lasted half a second, though, before she turned back to Joey. They exchanged pleasantries and the normal sort of questions, and Kaiba made no effort to join. He wasn't friends with Mai, and he wasn't going to pretend that he was. He watched them, though, noting with bitter disapproval the way Joey's eyes occasionally dropped down to her ample chest, especially when it shook with laughter. Mai's low-cut bustier top seemed to draw Joey's eyes in like a black hole pulled surrounding matter into itself. By the time Mai left, her and Joey parting with another hug, Kaiba was frowning.

"You should have been nicer to her," Joey said when Mai was out of earshot.

"How was I not nice?" Kaiba protested, his mood sinking faster than the Titanic—which reminded him that there was also a Titanic replica in Vegas.

"You hardly said a word to her!"

"She hardly spoke to me either," Seto pointed out. "Does that mean she was rude too?"

"Of course not!"

"That's a double standard."

"I just want you to be friends with my friends, Seto," Joey said, looking serious as his temper started to cool down, which made it harder for Seto to stay mad at him. "You'd get along with them if you just tried. I'd be friends with your friends if—"

"If I had any," Kaiba finished curtly, looking down at his watch to avoid Joey's sad puppy eyes. "I have no friends, just very confused enemies."

"What about me, then?"

"You're not a friend." Kaiba looked back at Joey. "You're more than a friend. Calling you a friend would be a demotion." Joey seemed satisfied with that answer. "Come on, we should get going. We don't want to be late."

* * *

They'd chosen to go to a magic show for two reasons: first, Joey loved the spectacle and wonder of the whole thing; second, Seto liked to figure out how it was done. The joy of the puzzle was lost on Seto this time, though. He was too preoccupied with another problem entirely.

Between Joey's comments last night and his behavior with Mai, Seto couldn't help but wonder if Joey didn't truly prefer women. Between the two of them, Seto was the completely gay one, while Joey would swing either way. Seto didn't understand the appeal of women, but to be fair, he hated most people automatically. Most people annoyed him in some way or other, or their ignorance grated on him unbearably. In most cases, he saw no reason to identify with them, and he preferred to keep it that way. It allowed him to do his job as a corporate executive with the precision and efficiency it required without any unnecessary sense of guilt or hesitance.

Kaiba didn't understand breasts. Obviously, he understood their _biological_ function, but he didn't understand the sexual appeal. He especially didn't understand the widespread fascination with _large_ breasts, like Mai's. They seemed impractical and burdensome. From a purely _aesthetic_ standpoint, he considered women with smaller breasts more preferable, but maybe that opinion would mean more coming from a straight man. As a CEO, his _professional_ opinion on breasts was simple: "Keep them inside your clothes, or I'll send you home without pay to change into something more appropriate." It was right there in the employee handbook, so it usually wasn't a problem.

His opinion on women being what it was, Seto didn't understand why Joey couldn't take his eyes off Mai's ample chest. He would have wondered, _What does she have that I don't have?_ except that he already knew the answer; it was painfully obvious. Joey had only dated women before his current relationship. Perhaps, after the year they'd spent as a couple, he was starting to miss having female companions.

For another thing, Mai was more similar to Joey. They were both warm, loud, open people, perfectly willing to live their lives in spontaneous abandon. They would have been happy together, even with the six-year age difference. Joey had even told him that he wanted to be a professional duelist like Mai, which entailed travelling the world so that he could participate in tournaments. Now, though, he was on his way to playing pro sports. Had he given up that plan for Seto, so he could stay close? Or had he always preferred a career in sports, but was only now able to pursue that career because he was supported by his boyfriend's money?

Seto's thoughts started going in circles, and he couldn't enjoy himself as much as he wanted to, but he didn't let on to Joey that he was anything less than happy. Seto Kaiba was well-practiced at faking positive emotion.

* * *

 **Author Notes** : Looks like this will be one of the stories where the chapters are shorter and more to the point. The next chapter will be posted when I have _**15 TOTAL REVIEWS** _ on this work. Please follow so that you can be one of the first to see what happens next!

If you're sitting there somewhat confused wondering, "Wait, does Kaiba really think that Joey loves him less because he doesn't have boobs?" my answer to that is yes. Yes he is. XD


	4. Solitaire

For the rest of the day, Seto could feel a dark cloud hanging over him with a storm just waiting to break. He continued brewing and stewing over the issue in the back of his mind as he fought to squash down his concerns. His own paranoid mind was working against him, though, and since they were both surrounded by the tantalizing temptations of Sin City, from casinos to cat houses to cabarets, there were plenty of things for his mind to invent and misinterpret. He told himself that this was why he and Joey didn't go out together in public on a regular basis.

When they returned to the hotel late that night, they were both a bit tired, Seto more so. It had been a long day, and when Seto sat down on the couch, he was surprised that only moments later, Joey joined him by straddling his lap and sinking into his embrace. Seto's hand went up to stroke Joey's hair, pleasantly surprised, as always, by how soft it was. He never used to notice that before. Only one month of acupuncture left, then he was done. One downside of recovering a sense of touch was that his scars bothered him in a way they never used to. That was typical for him, though: solving one problem tended to create another. Maybe when the neuropathy was cured, he'd look into getting those treated too.

Joey snuggled into Seto's shoulder, closing his eyes as they sat together in silence. The blond's hands toyed with the collar of Seto's shirt before moving to the buttons. At each button, he parted the fabric and spotted his skin with a kiss. He could only go down a few before his back was too bowed to keep going. Seto's hands were laced together and resting low on Joey's back, helping him keep his balance. It was an automatic thing; they'd been together so long that they moved in sync, working symbiotically without having to say a thing.

"You seemed worried today," Joey murmured as his lips came to rest against Seto's throat, the residual heartbeat vibrating against the thin skin of his lips.

"No more so than usual."

"I hoped you would stop, though, while we were on vacation."

"Hm."

"Seto—"

"You can't change who I am, Joey. I stress, I worry, I analyze, I plan. It's who I am."

"I know, but I've seen you relax before. It happens once in a blue moon, but it still happens." Joey smirked and nibbled at the cartilage of Seto's ear. "Like when you almost work yourself to death." He was thinking of the time they had sex in the hot tub during the trial, when Seto had gone all soft and sweet on him after spending too many hours awake and stressed.

"Why do you always think you know what's best for me?"

"Because it takes someone as smart as you are to do such stupid things."

Seto snorted. "Now you're describing the average bureaucrat." Seto unlaced his fingers and slid his hands under Joey's shirt, fingers moving over his lower back in slow, sensual circles.

"Aren't you familiar with the phenomenon that geniuses lack common sense?" Joey resumed unbuttoning Seto's shirt, pushing the fabric away so that he could trace every dip and hollow in the plane of his muscular body.

"So you admit that I'm a genius?"

"You're the most buff nerd I know," Joey answered, a hint of pride in his voice and a smile in his eyes.

Kaiba still had his bad days, after all, and he still boxed and ran when those days rolled around, in addition to working out regularly.

Seto smirked and affirmed his comment with a vague grunt as he leaned in to kiss Joey's neck.

"Did you get any other new toys that I'm not aware of?" Joey asked breathily, eyes aimed at the ceiling as his head dropped back. His mind had strayed back to last night and now that he thought about it, he was quite curious about Kaiba's purchases.

"Maybe."

"That's not an answer."

Seto smiled devilishly as Joey dropped his gaze so that their eyes met.

"You're just going to have to wait and see."

* * *

The next day was spent taking Joey to every gastronomic specialty in the city: M&M's World, Sugar Factory, Wonderland Bakery, Ethel M Chocolates, The Vegas Bayou, the Venetian, and a crepe store at the French pavilion beneath the Eiffel Tower. They went anywhere Joey wanted to eat, and while Joey enjoyed the food— _lots_ of food, and still buying things to take home—Seto enjoyed watching the blond's visceral, innocent delight in something so simple as food.

"You can't keep eating like this forever, you know," Seto commented as they left the bakery. "Your metabolism will slow down eventually."

"That's a long way off," Joey scoffed dismissively as he placed his newest goodies in the back seat of their rental car. "I'll worry about that when the time comes."

Personally, Seto wasn't all that worried when he saw Joey eating so much, given his past troubles. Joey's metabolism was _fast_ , though: faster than a freight train. It took a lot of food for it to show. There were girls who would probably kill for his thirty-inch waist and his metabolism. Seto didn't mind Joey being naturally thin so long as he was healthy. It made him just the right size, actually, in Seto's opinion.

"We should stop by a grocery store before we go back to the hotel tonight," Joey said as he buckled his seat belt in the passenger seat.

"We should?" Seto gave Joey a brief look over his sunglasses as he started backing out of their parking spot. He was visibly pleased by the texture of the black leather interior of the Ferrari he'd rented for their vacation.

"Yeah, I need some things." Joey was picturing Seto slathered in whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and melting ice cream. He started salivating and licked his lips.

"Things like what?"

Joey didn't answer, just stared out the window distractedly.

"Joey?"

"Hm?"

"Nevermind."

"Sorry, I was distracted by your _divine_ beauty." Joey grinned roguishly, and Seto knew that he was up to something.

"You're so horny."

"With a boyfriend like you, it's hard _not_ to be." Joey leaned over and kissed Seto's cheek, his lips lingering and starting to trail down to his neck. His hand slipped to Seto's thigh.

"Damn it, Joey!" Seto hissed, his hands clenching the steering wheel. He'd been caught by surprise, and the car had swerved slightly as Joey's fingers caressed a spot high on his inner thigh. Thankfully, the windows of their car were darkly tinted.

"We've never had sex in a car before," Joey hummed, his hand moving from Seto's thigh to his crotch.

"And you decided to fix that _now_? While I'm _driving_?"

"Yes." Joey rubbed Seto through his pants, then leaned down to kiss the bulge.

"Damn it, Joey," Seto repeated, his vocabulary reduced significantly by Joey's attentions, as usual. "If we crash, it's your fault."

"I thought you were excellent at multitasking," Joey teased, tugging at Seto's zipper. He smirked and said, "Just think of it as a video game, and you'll be fine."

* * *

 **Author Notes** : The next chapter will be posted when I have **20 REVIEWS TOTAL**. I was supposed to have more substance in this chapter but, eh, I've got time to make it happen.

 **Guest** : First of all, make an account so you can follow my stories and so I can reply to your comments properly, via PM. ;) Secondly, thank you so much for your review and your compliments and I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying these stories! Your review is the kind of review that I most enjoy getting. :D I've already set Kaiba up as a somewhat possessive character in this series, so I figured he would be the jealous type too, and jealousy makes people do silly things. This story is supposed to be a lot of fun to balance the heavy angst in previous series.

And in case you were wondering, no, Kaiba's not going to have rap battle with... anyone, although that _would_ be fun. That would be too OC of him for this story.


	5. War

Seto managed to keep his concerns to himself for the next couple days, telling himself that it was silly. He didn't even consider saying anything to Joey about it. It wasn't a matter of much consequence. As soon as they got home, these vacuous fears would disappear. He just had to wait for them to go away. Sure, they were nagging at the back of his mind now, but they wouldn't forever.

Then Joey made plans for them to meet Mai at a bar one evening, and while it wasn't what Seto'd had in mind, he wasn't going to protest. He'd go along and be "nice" as Joey requested he do, but it didn't change his opinion of the busty blond duelist.

They went to the bar. Joey and Mai talked, laughed, joked. Seto contributed to the conversation when he felt like it, when he could. All he could focus on was how well they were together, how Mai's breasts shook when she laugh, and how Joey's eyes always seemed drawn to them when that happened.

When Mai left to go to the ladies' room, Joey glanced over at Seto, concerned by his silence. That was an impulse Kaiba didn't quite understand: Joey always thought something was wrong if Seto wasn't chatty with other people, which happened often when they were around other people, but that, in and of itself, happened only rarely. Joey caught Seto's gaze as he frowned at no-one in particular. The brunette immediately changed his expression, but Joey had already seen his disgruntled look.

"What?"

"Nothing."

" _Something's_ bothering you."

"It's nothing. Just drop it."

"Don't shut me out." Joey's warm honey eyes glowed with a concern that, at the moment, irritated Kaiba.

"I'm _not_ shutting you out, it's just not worth talking about!" Seto was getting snappy now.

"If it's not worth talking about, then why are you thinking about it?"

"I'm _not_ thinking about it!"

" _It_ is, by definition, whatever you're thinking about!" Joey crossed his arms, adopting the same posture that Mokuba did whenever he began resisting his brother's paternal directions. "Just tell me. What's the big deal?"

Seto rolled his eyes and looked away, carefully weighing his options. Without looking at Joey, he asked softly, "I was just wondering if you missed being with a woman." He looked at Joey then and braced himself for the explosion.

"How could you even _say_ something like that?!"

"I didn't _want_ to! You _made_ me! Remember five seconds ago when I said it _wasn't worth saying_?"

"Bullshit! I didn't _make_ you do anything!"

"Why do you have to be so _sensitive_?"

"You're completely _ridiculous_ , you know that?"

"It's an honest question! You can't _blame_ me for wondering!"

"And you think _I'm_ the one that's sensitive?!"

"Just the other night you were bragging about all the women you'd slept with!"

"I did not!"

"You did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did—" Seto stopped short as he realized they sounded like a pair of school-children. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know." Joey looked just as befuddled as Seto did.

Together, they awkwardly turned back towards the bar. There was only peace between them for a few moments.

"I don't see why you needed to take it so _personally_ ," Kaiba muttered, lighting the fuse on Joey's short temper.

"You practically accused me of cheating on you!"

"That is _not_ what happened."

"It might as well have!"

As Joey and Kaiba started to get into it, they started getting louder, and the bartender asked them to leave. They did so, arguing the whole way, having completely forgotten that they had gone there with Mai in the first place.

"If you could just be rational and objective for _one minute_ , you'd see that I wasn't accusing you of _anything_ ," Kaiba growled, holding the door open for Joey as they entered the establishment next-door.

"And maybe you should _stop_ being so objective and actually _think_ about how your words make other people feel." Joey strutted straight to the bar, not looking back for a moment.

"Maybe _other people_ should learn how to control their feelings." Seto followed him, so caught up in the argument that he didn't notice the girl with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon tattoo. "Mere _feelings_ shouldn't decide how you react to everything."

"But feelings still _matter_ , Seto," Joey snapped, standing at the bar now and turning a dark glare at his approaching lover.

"You're being too sensitive," Kaiba returned as he sat on the bar stool beside the blond. "This is just like what happened with your father. Just because I suggested that he needed to go to a proper rehab and get support was not a slander against him _or_ you. Just because I ask if you miss having a girlfriend _doesn't mean_ that I think you're cheating on me." He turned to the side and leaned against the counter and said, "You need to stop jumping to conclusions."

"And you need to stop saying stupid things."

"How was that stupid?"

"Just look at what's resulted from it!"

"You didn't give me a _choice_ , Joey! Next time I say that something doesn't matter, you should listen, and just drop it."

"So now it's _my_ fault?!"

"If your indignation is so righteous, then all you had to do was say no, and none of this would have happened."

Neither of them spoke for a few moments, and the deep flush of Joey's cheeks made Seto begin to genuinely wonder. Before, his concerns had been silly paranoia, and he'd known it. Now, though, he had a reason to be worried.

"So I guess—"

"No, Seto." Joey cut him off firmly, eyes ablaze. "Don't you _dare_ go there with me."

"Then why didn't you deny it when I asked?"

"Because it's a stupid question that I shouldn't even _need_ to answer." Joey's expression had hardened into stern disapproval as he claimed the moral high ground for himself. "What has gotten _into_ you lately?"

Kaiba glared at Joey, then summoned the bartender and ordered two shots of vodka.

"I don't want vodka."

"Who said it was for you?"

"Do you even hear yourself, Seto? You're acting like a child, and I don't appreciate your silly accusations." The blond huffed indignantly and crossed his arms. "Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?"

"I didn't _want_ to ask about it—"

"Then why were you thinking about it? Is it because of Mai?"

Seto's face became even more sour at the mention of Mai's name, and Joey took that as a yes.

"I told you months ago, Seto: there was never anything between us. We've always been friends, nothing more." Joey's eyes hardened into stones. "When I tell you something like that, I expect you to trust me."

Seto glared into the shot glasses that were set before him. When Joey put it that way, Kaiba had to admit that he had a point, but he wasn't ready to admit it yet.

"I hope you have something to say for yourself."

Joey sounded like what Kaiba had imagined parents would sound like when speaking to a naughty child.

"Sorry."

"You'd better have more to say than just _that_."

"What do you want from me, Joey?" Kaiba snapped. "It's not like you make it easy for me."

"What do you have to complain about?" Joey retorted, turning away from him as he swiveled his bar stool so he could face the rest of the room as Seto threw back one of his shots. That's when Joey saw something that he'd been too preoccupied to notice before: the karaoke stage. "You know what I want from you?" he asked suddenly, starting to get an idea.

"What?" Kaiba looked entirely unamused.

"I want you to get up there and sing." He pointed to the stage for emphasis.

"Hell no!"

"That's the only way I'm going to forgive you." Joey crossed his arms stubbornly. "If you get off your high horse, get up there, and sing karaoke to me."

"What kind of a request _is_ that?"

"It shows that you actually understand that you were wrong and that you're sorry and that you're willing to do what it takes to get me back."

"That's ridiculous." Kaiba knocked back the second shot of vodka and stood, walking away. "Pay the man, Joey."

Frustrated, Joey fumbled with his wallet, quickly pulling out the necessary bills and slapping them on the counter so he could chase Kaiba out of the bar and to wherever he ran off to.

 **{Welcome to the interactive portion of this story! Open another tab of your web browser and open YouTube, then search "Drag Me Down by One Direction." Start playing this song before you continue for the best reading experience!}**

"I've got a fire for a heart, I'm not scared of the dark, I've never seen it look so easy."

Joey was shocked. He turned around, and although he knew what he was looking at, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"I've got a river for a soul/ And baby you're a boat/ Baby you're the only reason. If I didn't have you there would be nothing left/ The shell of a man who could never be his best. If I didn't have you I'd never see the sun. You taught me how to be someone."

Kaiba didn't look directly at Joey, but Joey didn't give it a second thought. He considered taking out his phone to record it, but decided that just seeing it with his own eyes was enough. He could remember this for the rest of his life.

"All my life/ You stood by me/ When no one else/ Was ever beside me/ All these lights/ Can't blind me/ With your love/ Nobody can drag me down. Nobody, nobody. Nobody can drag me down."

Kaiba didn't dance; he strutted and stalked, he leaned and swayed. All this time, Joey had thought Seto to be an introvert, but what he was seeing now—his showmanship and confidence and overall suave—was making him reevaluate that perception. He excited the crowd, actually got them singing along by the time the second verse rolled around. The song seemed to end all too soon, and when it did, people were cheering.

When he came off the stage, Joey was there to take his hand and jerk him off the last step, laughing aloud as he ran, hauling Kaiba with him as they darted for the backdoor. Once the burst out into the night air, Seto dug in his heels and pulled Joey back so that he crashed into him. The neon lights spun around them with dizzying effect as Kaiba pushed Joey's back into the side of the bar and kissed him good and hard.

"I forgive you," Joey managed between breathless kisses, as if that still needed to be said. Things were getting heated between them as the door opened and a small band of gaggling girls flowed from the glowing, gaping doorway.

"Omigod! You're Seto Kaiba!" The "girls"—young women, really—squealed as Joey and Kaiba broke apart, Joey looking stunned while Seto looked merely embarrassed.

"Hi."

"I am _such_ a fan!"

One girl with beachy blond wavy stepped up, holding out her hand, which Seto shook on instinct. As a businessman, he'd had to shake many a hand.

"I was _so_ upset when I found out that you weren't going to be at KameCon this week—like, you wouldn't even believe it—so I am just _so psyched_ to meet you!"

"Is that a Blue-Eyes White Dragon tattoo?" he asked, pointing to her left upper arm.

"Uh-huh!" She beamed with pride.

"Why don't _I_ have one of those?" he queried, looking to Joey, who had to resist the urge to face-palm.

"Because you don't want a tattoo," the blond reminded him.

" _Right_." Kaiba nodded he remembered that, and Joey started to wonder if he shouldn't be getting Seto away from the fangirls. If he didn't handle this properly, they might have a PR nightmare on their hands.

"If you weren't supposed to be at KameCon, then why are you in Vegas, if you won't mind my asking?" asked one fan with straight dark hair. She looked to be the most sober of them all.

"I'm on vacation, and I promised to _stay_ on vacation while I was here," Kaiba answered with a fair degree of steadiness.

"That karaoke show was quite impressive," she said, and Joey noticed how she was holding her phone: careful and close. "I'm glad I got a video of it. I suppose you don't want it floating around on the internet, do you?"

"Are you trying to blackmail him?"

"I can handle myself, Joey."

"Yes." She stuck out her chin a little as she straightened up, looking defiant. "I helped plan KameCon. I put together panels and reached out to speakers, and without you, our attendance took a huge hit."

"So you want me to participate in the QA panel tomorrow?" Kaiba guessed.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, but promised that—"

"It's okay, Seto." Joey smiled up at him in understanding. "You can go, I won't be mad."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it kind sounds like fun anyways."

"Okay. Thanks." Kaiba smiled back at him, then returned to the s that all? I mean, that's a pretty good bargaining chip. Now would be the time to ask for more."

"An exclusive interview for my blog!" the girl with the dragon tattoo requested with a grin.

"You got it."

"An autographed Duel Monsters card!"

"No problem."

"A nude picture of you and your boyfriend!"

The girls twittered, but all of them seemed keen on that proposition.

" _That_ is where I draw the line." He held out his hand. "Let me delete it."

"You don't trust me?" his blackmailer asked, curving one eyebrow at him.

"No. I don't know you. Why _should_ I trust you?"

"Fair enough." She unlocked her phone and handed it to him. He deleted the video (and photos) she had taken of him, erasing them from the retrievable cache on the phone's hard-drive as well. Joey was surprised at himself for _being_ surprised that Kaiba could forget that he didn't want tattoos, but remember how to hack into the inner workings of a smart phones software from the user interface. He handed it back to her.

"I still have all the info, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Joey grabbed his arm, eager to get him alone again.

"Will you take pictures with all of us before the QA?"

He thought for a moment, then threw his hands up in the air and said, "Sure, why not?"

"Can I take a picture with _you_ Joey Wheeler?" one female asked, stepping up to the blond, getting closer than Seto liked. Joey blushed and barely had a moment to get flustered before Seto had his arm around Joey's shoulders and was pulling him close.

"Watch it, he's _mine,_ " Seto growled, and the girls giggled again.

"I ship them so hard," the beachy blond whispered to one of her friends with enthusiasm.

"If that's all, then we'll be on our way." Joey was taking Kaiba by the arm again, pulling him away from the femme fatales he feared could have been their undoing. "We'll see you ladies tomorrow!" He and Kaiba stumbled into a sprint as the females bid them farewell. They ran for a block before coming to a stop.

"Do you think they saw where we went?" Joey asked nervously, looking around for any sign of them. Meanwhile, Seto was laughing.

"Who cares? Come on, let's go have some fun."

* * *

 **Author Notes** : I feel like I imagined this chapter as better than I was able to write it. Oh well. I made up the name KameCon, because according to Google Translate, kame is Japanese for game. Any resemblance to any real-life conventions is coincidental (especially because I've never been to any cons).

The next chapter will be posted when I get _**27 reviews!**_ I'll need some time to wrap it up. I've been so occupied with this chapter that I've barely touched the next one. ^_^'

As for what comes next... I might do a special, long one-shot for this series as a Christmas present to ya'll. If there are any scenarios you want to see these boys thrown into that I haven't covered yet, let me in a review or PM!


	6. Hearts

**APOLOGY : Sorry guys that this took so long for me to post. It was going to go up a lot sooner, and then I had a sudden bout of hard depression and got stuck, and then I got in a car accident so it was delayed even further, but I'm getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow, so I didn't want to push it off further while I'm recovering. But, it's up now, so please forgive me. Only one chapter more after this.**

 **Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.**

* * *

Joey and Kaiba awoke late the next morning, tangled together in their bedsheets. They were both groggy, but Seto became aware first. He tried to roll out of bed, but gave a sharp cry as he landed hard on the floor with his foot still under the sheets. Joey had cried out as well.

"Quit yanking on my foot!"

"I didn't _touch_ your foot, Joey."

Joey scowled at Seto, then lifted the blanket up to see that their ankles were cuffed together. Seto crossed his arms and glared at the blond from where his head and shoulders were awkwardly slumped against the floor as he waited for Joey to release his foot. That being done, Seto hit the floor with a thud then stiffly got to his feet.

"It's already ten o'clock," he grumbled as he checked his watch, making Joey groan. Seto snatched a pillow off his side of the bed and threw it at Joey's head. "Time to get up."

"Can't we just—Ah!"

Seto looked over at Joey, startled by his outcry, then smirked. "I don't see what you're upset about. That's some decent ink."

"I bet it was _your_ idea," Joey accused him with a glare.

"Hey, it's on _your_ skin, _not_ mine." Seto leaned in and nibbled on his lips for a moment before pulling away. "And it's _your_ dragon." Seto reached down to touch it, but Joey hissed at the contact and smacked his hand away from the sleek Red-Eyes Black Dragon tattoo that curved around his hip, its tail trailing down to curl along his thigh.

"Don't touch it; it still stings."

Seto straightened up and walked to the bathroom, leaving Joey to sink into the pillows with a slight whine as the sheet rubbed against his painfully fresh tattoo.

"What the hell happened last night?"

"You mean you don't remember?" the brunette's voice echoed from the bathroom.

"Like you do," Joey snorted bitterly. He wished that Seto had a tattoo too, so they would at least be suffering together, and he had half a mind to _make_ Seto get a matching one out of spite. Seto emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later looking slightly less mussed than before. He leaned down and scooped Joey into his arms, surprising the blond.

"Wha-?"

"Hold still." Seto carefully set Joey down on the closed lid of the toilet, then moved to the sink and squeezed the excess water from a washcloth.

"Whataya doin'?" Joey asked, confused as he rubbed at his tired eyes.

"You said that it hurt, didn't you?" Seto knelt on the floor beside him and began to gently dab at the fresh mark with the neutrally warm, wet cloth. Joey braced himself for the contact, but it didn't hurt like he thought it would.

"Yeah, but how do you know how to care for a tattoo?"

"It doesn't take that long to do a Google search, Joe."

Joey didn't speak as he watched Seto tenderly wash his raw, red skin, then pat it dry with another washcloth. He lifted Joey in his arms again and carried him back to bed.

"You can be really sweet sometimes," Joey observed thoughtfully, his head resting against Seto's shoulder. "But you're also kind of an ass."

Kaiba laughed. "You say that like you haven't known me for years." He carefully lay Joey back down on the bed so that he rested on his un-tattooed side. "Be careful not to let it touch anything. We'll bandage it after you shower." He was just starting to pull away when Joey caught Seto's left hand with his own, the faint clink of metal accompanying the grasp.

"You know, I wasn't as freaked out by the rings as I was by the tattoo," Joey observed coolly, studying the metal band on Seto's finger and noting how it matched his own.

"I'll have to check the paperwork to see if it's valid outside the city." Seto let Joey inspect their rings and made no attempt to withdraw his hand. While Joey studied Seto's ring, Seto studied Joey's face.

"And if it is?" Joey looked up at Seto with genuine curiosity.

"We _could_ get an annulment if we wanted to, but I don't see why we'd want to." He aimed his cool eyes at his lover. "Do _you_ see a reason to get an annulment?"

"Nah." Joey answered with a crooked, boyish grin. "Ya ain't half bad, now that I know ya better."

Seto chuckled again, squeezed his hand, and kissed Joey's cheek. "You're not half bad, yourself."

* * *

When Kaiba appeared as a last-minute surprise at KameCon later that day, his fans went wild with enthusiasm. He found himself wishing that he had Roland and some of his personal security agents with him, but the con security seemed sufficient—for now. He advised Joey to keep a relatively low profile—for safety reasons—but more people recognized Joey than either of them would have guessed.

In the past, Joey had complained about not being recognized by other duelists despite his high rankings in tournaments, and Seto had pointed out that it was because of Joey's "everyman" aura. People like Kaiba, Mai, Yugi, Bandit Keith, Rebecca Hawkins—even Marik to a degree—created a particular persona for themselves in their duels. Joey was helplessly authentic and unassuming with his common name, brash manner, ignorant accent, and "boy next door" charm. It made him blend in as much as it made people like him. Add to that his _relatively_ humble stance and his habit for being gracious when he lost, he was, on a personal level, more likable than any other professional duelist. (Even Yugi seemed unapproachable due to his status, and his awkwardness sometimes made encounters with him uncomfortable.)

Seto was certain that, ever since they'd made their relationship public, some of Joey's likability had been applied to himself, just as much as his fame had been applied to Joey. Then his fan following had taken root and grown exponentially to the point where it was now.

When it came to be time for the Q&A panel, Kaiba advised Joey to keep a low profile and hang to the back of the crowd. Joey balked at this instruction, though.

"Why the heck should I do that?" he demanded, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Because if things go wrong, I want you to be able to make a quick, unobstructed escape."

"What do you think is going to happen?" Joey asked, scrutinizing Seto's expression.

" _I'm_ not planning on starting any fights—" Seto began.

"But you'll most certainly finish them," Joey completed for him, letting out a small sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. "That makes me want to sit at the foot of the stage, so that I can interfere in case you two _do_ get into a fist fight."

"Three."

"What?"

"I have more than one enemy on the panel," Seto reminded him. "So you might have a three-way fight on your hands."

"Do you _honestly_ think they're going to try anything physical on stage at a convention?" Joey asked, finding the idea incredible.

"No, but I need to plan for all possibilities. You understand."

"Yeah, I guess." Joey huffed in reluctant acceptance, and Seto pecked his cheek to reassure him.

"Don't worry about it. We'll be out of here and back on vacation before you know it."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Joey admitted, his eyes hard-set like gems. "I'm worried about what will happen _between_ now and then. Just promise me that even if he's goading you into it, you won't—"

"No matter how immature he is, I won't stoop to his level." Seto pecked Joey's lips, then leaned in for a long, soft kiss that seemed to ease Joey's tension.

"Good luck out there."

"I'm a Kaiba; I don't need luck." He reached for the door—they'd wanted some privacy, so they'd found a family restroom in the same hotel as the convention, not too close to the convention hall itself—but Joey grabbed his arm. Seto looked back at him curiously.

"Are you sure you want to go on stage wearing that?" Joey asked, looking to the ring on Seto's left hand.

"If you don't want me to, I won't."

Joey chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "I just think that they'd notice and ask about it, and... this isn't really the time and place for that."

Seto slipped the ring off his finger and tucked it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Then he offered Joey a dazzling smile and said, "It's show time."

* * *

 **Author Notes** : Can I just say something? I like Jou and Jo, but I don't like Joe. Each spelling sounds slightly different in my head. Is that weird?


	7. Spit

"... And did you see how that car just exploded?!" Tristan enthused to Yugi as he pushed open the door to the ice cream parlor and held it open for the rest of their friends. Téa rolled her eyes as she passed him.

" _Which_ car?" she retorted. "That entire movie was nothing _but_ cars and explosions!"

"I thought the movie was pretty good," Yugi contributed with a gracious smile. "What did you think, Mokuba?"

"I liked it!" The youngest Kaiba's grin was wide, everything about him upbeat and cheerful. "Thanks again for taking me to the movies with you guys. I don't normally get to do this kind of thing."

"Sure thing! You can tag along with us any time." Yugi smiled warmly at Mokuba as their group approached the counter to look at the colorful ice cream flavors behind the glass. "You too, Serenity." Yugi turned to smile at Joey's quiet sister, who looked pleased at being included. "You're our friend in your own right, you know." Mokuba's phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out to look at the notification.

"Thanks. I really like hanging out with you guys," she said sweetly.

"It's nice that I'm not the only girl here anymore," Téa contributed, putting a friendly arm around Serenity's shoulders just as Tristan was about to reach for her hand. "After a while, you just get too used to these knuckleheads."

"It's just too bad that Joey and Duke couldn't be here too," Serenity murmured in her usual demure manner as Tristan clenched his fist at his side in frustration.

"What can I get for you kids?" the man behind the counter asked as he approached, pulling on a fresh pair of cellophane gloves.

"I'll have mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone, please!" Yugi ordered politely.

"Coming right up!"

"I thought—" Mokuba stopped short and bit his bottom lip as he frowned at his phone, drawing Yugi's attention first. A few moments later, Mokuba gasped, slapping his hand over his mouth as his eyes widened in shock.

"What's wrong, Mokuba?" Téa asked, looking worried.

"Um..." Mokuba's eyes skimmed over the others' expressions of concern, then gave a small sigh. "So, I have a Google alert set up for KaibaCorp and my brother's name," he explained, deciding to start from the beginning. "So that every time something new about either of them appears on the internet, I get an email. I just got one of those, and... it's not good."

"Here you go." The man behind the counter handed Yugi's ice cream cone to him over the counter. Téa took it and handed it to her friend, knowing that he wouldn't be able to reach it, then asked for lemon sorbet in a small cup.

"So what happened?" Tristan asked, still trying to figure out what had Mokuba so concerned.

"Well, the gaming convention that Duke is speaking at this week had also invited my brother several months ago. He turned them down, but apparently he still went, and..." Mokuba gave another small sigh and decided to just show them. He reset the video to the beginning, turned up the volume, tapped the play button, then turned it around to show the others. Téa, Yugi, Tristan, and Serenity all leaned in as they watched the video. It had been taken by someone who was in the middle of the audience and who'd used the camera on their phone. It was shaky at first, and the audio was unclear. The video zoomed in on Kaiba and Zigfried, who were sitting next to each other on the left side of the table. The echo of the microphones obscured their voices, but they were arguing with each other, speaking over each other as their voices got louder. Kaiba waved one hand at the German in a dismissive gesture, and Zigfried forcefully grabbed Kaiba's arm in anger. A split second later, Kaiba's fist connected with Zigfried's face, and chaos broke out. A few security guards could be seen on the edge of the screen approaching the stage, clearly intending to take _both_ of them away. Kaiba was already standing from the table and walking away, looking furious. Meanwhile, Zigfried was covering his injury with his hand, so they couldn't actually see what damage had been caused. At this point, Duke—who'd simply been looking uncomfortable as he and Pegasus looked on until now—shot out of his chair and grabbed his microphone from its stand on the table. As this happened, the camera was aimed at Duke, so they couldn't see where Kaiba went. _"Who wants me to take my shirt off?"_ Duke shouted, throwing his free hand high in the air. _"Cheer as loud as you can!"_

"It keeps going, but it's all about Duke after that." Mokuba said, having paused the video at this point. Serenity was blushing, Téa was on the verge of a facepalm, Tristan had rolled his eyes and scoffed at Kaiba's behavior. Only Yugi seemed concerned on Mokuba's behalf. Shaking his head in disapproval, Mokuba added, "I don't know _who_ thought it was a good idea to put those two next to each other."

"I think I saw Joey in that video," Serenity piped up. "If you go back a bit, I can show you." Serenity and Mokuba stood close together as they tried to find the place where she thought she saw her brother. They did manage to find him: just after the punch, when people started reacting, they could see his mess of blond hair just at the edge of the screen, jogging past people as he tried to reach Kaiba before the security people did. He was only on screen for half a second, and you couldn't see his face, but his friends recognized him nonetheless.

"I need to tell our marketing and PR manager about this." Mokuba stepped away a little from the group as he went to his contacts and began to scroll for the number he was looking for. "I have to see if I can get this video taken down." He tapped the call button and put his phone to his ear, stepping further away from the group as he waited for the KaibaCorp employee to answer. _And then I need to call Seto and talk to him about it._ Mokuba was both angry and disappointed with his brother. This was going to be a PR mess for both of them.

* * *

"You're phone's ringing," Joey said as he walked back into the kitchenette of their hotel room from the bedroom. Seto was sitting on a stool with his right hand buried in a wide bowl of ice.

"Put it on silent."

"It's your brother." Joey put Seto's cell on the counter next to him (without putting it on silent) to let him make the decision. Joey turned around to open the beeping microwave, and as he pulled on the paper tabs to open the bag of fully popped popcorn, Seto answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't be going to that con." Mokuba launched right into the issue, speaking quietly, but still sounding angry.

"I'm doing well, how are you?" Kaiba replied, but Mokuba was in no mood to put up with his sauciness.

"Cut it out, Seto." His little brother was dead serious. "Do you know how many people saw that?"

"Several hundred, at least." Since Mokuba was acting serious and mature, Seto would respond in kind.

"I asked the manager of the PR department to take down the YouTube video, and she's working on it, but it's been online for less than an hour and it's already got thousands of views."

So that was how Mokuba knew what had happened.

"Isn't this _why_ we agreed you shouldn't go?" Mokuba prompted crossly.

"Yes, that _was_ a consideration," the brunette acknowledged reluctantly.

"That was the _whole_ reason," Mokuba corrected. "So why were you even there?"

"It was a complicated situation." His little brother didn't need to know the details of how Kaiba's jealousy had, in an indirect series of events connected by the domino effect, ultimately caused this bad publicity for him personally and for the company.

"Fine, don't tell me, but you're going to have to work things out with Matsuda-san to fix this. She said she was going to send you an email so you could collaborate on how to spin the story."

Kaiba was impressed; the video had been online for less than an hour, and Mokuba had already seen it, contacted the appropriate person inside their company, _and_ contacted Kaiba himself.

"You should also thank Duke for presenting a distraction at the event," Mokuba continued. "Him going shirtless onstage is still a bigger online story than your fight with Zigfried, at least so far."

Kaiba was feeling even more proud of his little brother the longer this call went, so much so that he'd ceased feeling guilty.

"I will," Kaiba agreed, flexing his cold fingers that were buried in the ice to keep his hand from cramping. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"I'm more worried about you getting sued by Zigfried!" Mokuba snapped, still angry, but it just amused his brother.

"I can't be charged with assault because it was provoked," Kaiba explained calmly. "The moment he grabbed my arm, he provoked the attack and surrendered his right to sue me or press charges."

"I hope you're right." Mokuba's outright anger was ebbing. "How's your hand?"

"Sore." Kaiba shrugged, not that Mokuba could tell. "Nothing's broken but the skin, so it'll be fine."

"Okay. Good. We'll talk about it more when you get home. Next time you go on vacation, though, try to _stay_ on vacation."

Kaiba chuckled at that; it was entertaining to hear Mokuba trying to reprimand him. "I'll try. And Mokuba?"

"Yeah?"

"It sounds like you've handled the situation well. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." Mokuba, caught off guard, didn't have any quips on hand to toss back at him.

"I'll see you when I get home. I love you."

"I love you too." Mokuba's vocal volume had dropped, ears turning red in embarrassment solely because he was acutely aware of his—their?—friends standing several feet behind him and listening, and he was unaccustomed to having an audience to his affectionate exchanges with his brother.

"Stay safe."

"You too."

They hung up, and Kaiba let out his breath. He put his phone down and took his right hand out of the ice, wrapping a small towel around it as he tried to dry it without making it hurt more. All the while, Joey had stood there, watching and listening while eating the fresh popcorn straight from the bag.

"Was he mad?"

"As mad as a twelve-year-old _can_ be about his brother punching out a mutual enemy." He shook his head and said, "Next time we go on vacation, we're going to a desert island so this kind of thing can't happen again."

"I can dig it," Joey said after a moment of thought, then moved around the counter to stand next to Seto and drop a kiss on the top of his head. "I'm still mad at you for punching him too, you know."

"Hmm." Kaiba leaned against Joey, resting his head against his arm and closing his eyes.

"But you know what would make me feel more forgiving?"

"What?" Kaiba opened his eyes narrowly, already sensing that he wouldn't like Joey's response.

"Matching tattoos."

"Hell no."

"Come on! It's not fair that only I have one. Besides..." Joey put down his popcorn and put his arms around Seto's shoulders, hugging him close and pressing a small kiss to the sensitive spot behind Kaiba's ear. "Think of it this way: it's my permanent mark that I'm leaving on you so that people know you're mine." Joey had Seto figured out by now. He didn't know _everything_ about him, but he knew how his thought process worked and the kind of logic that effectively persuaded. "Because you _are_ mine, and I'm never going to let you go."

Seto closed his eyes again and nuzzled his head against Joey's, the blond's body firm and warm at Kaiba's back.

"I'll _consider_ it," Seto conceded, giving Joey a sense of triumph. "But I promise nothing."

* * *

 **A/N:** **You can check out my Deleted Scenes collection if you want to see most of what** ** _would_** **have been the last chapter (where s***** ** _was_** **supposed to hit the fan, but I was too ambitious with this story and started writing it before I had a good grasp on the** ** _WHOLE_** **plot, which is my fault and I apologize profusely for that).**

 **I am actually really satisfied with this ending, though. I always toyed with the idea of throwing in a scene at the end with Mokuba seeing something online about his brother, and then the others wanting to see it, so I'm glad I could use that in a way that worked.**

 **In order to prevent the next story from just dragging out like this one did, I will post the** ** _entirety_** **of the next story in this series ALL AT ONCE. I'm planning on posting it on Valentine's Day (because I obviously have nothing else to do on that day), so you all have that to look forward to now. ^-^**


End file.
